Houston partner Paul Francis was quoted in a June 24, 2009, Houston Chronicle article, "Houston Told to Pay $1 Million Over Balloon."
According to the article, a federal judge recently declared a city of Houston sign ordinance unconstitutional and awarded nearly $1 million to the company that brought the suit, Houston Balloons & Promotions. Francis represented the company's owner, who brought the suit in 2006, claiming that a disproportionate number of the company's customers were ticketed and that the company lost business from balloon renters worried about future citations.
The judge ruled that a 1993 city ordinance restricting the use of attention-getting devices, such as banners, pennants, streamers, strobes, spotlights, whirligigs and inflatable objects, violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and that the city violated the due process clause because the regulations were vague and the city enforced them arbitrarily and inconsistently. The judge awarded Houston Balloons & Promotions $927,841 plus an additional $187,000 in expenses and attorneys fees.
"The city's going to have to be very careful in how it enforces the new ordinance starting in January," said Francis. "If they enforce it literally and ban car lot streamers and banners along with inflatables, they'll likely face an array of challengers. If they don't, and they discriminate, they’ll be in the same boat as this case."